Environmental Impact of our Hobby.

[Dearth]

Actually a few of us local reefers were talking about harvesting methods used to get live rock. One of the guys used to live in Indonesia and the locals where he lived at the time would walk out into the ocean grab, drag and lift the rocks then bring them to shore and use sledge hammers, drills, jack hammers and even explosives to break up big chunks of rock to sell to buyers as for them it was and still is an income for them. This alone is a huge negative impact on the ocean.

They do destroy huge chunks of the ocean floor to supply demand however practises are changing and many areas he said are going to sustainable methods and more and now more Salt water hobbyists are using existing rock from professional and home aquariums making the rocks harvested from the ocean less and less viable.

Also making natural rocks less viable even more is the creation of rocks tailored to your needs it is very expensive but more and more people are liking the idea of tailor made rocks over natural that is a positive impact on the ocean for sure

[rsisvixen]

I think we actually help the reef more than hinder.

Yes we take stuff out so most people would see that as a negative, but if it wasn't for hobbyists the reefs would be even worse off.

Without us, there wouldn't be as much research done or people that care about what happens in the reefs, there would be no attempt to understand captive breeding, propagation and reef rehabilitation.
There are now wild reef preserves to try and conserve habitat, would anyone ever have even cared if this hobby didn't exist? Its under the ocean, out of sight out of mind as the saying goes.
How many marine biologists/scientists would not be here today if there had been no saltwater hobby?

[jorjef]

Hold on for a second...drops mic, walking away putting his rose coloured glasses on .... Oh ya that's better.

[chromakey]

Good Day:

I haven't thoroughly weighed out the evidence whether we have a negative effect of the reef environment but I believe we affect the environment.

I believe the biggest effects to the reef environment are overfishing, pollution (including agricultural runoff) and climate change.

For a look at the change of the ocean environment and tropical reefs the Netflix documentary "Mission Blue" documents the change of several reefs over 40 years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2004304/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Michael

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by chromakey

Good Day:

I haven't thoroughly weighed out the evidence whether we have a negative effect of the reef environment but I believe we affect the environment.

I believe the biggest effects to the reef environment are overfishing, pollution (including agricultural runoff) and climate change.

For a look at the change of the ocean environment and tropical reefs the Netflix documentary "Mission Blue" documents the change of several reefs over 40 years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2004304/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Michael

Good answer to a different question, but not this one

[Baker]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Ya, and that's the thing, This isn't a question looking for a yes or no. It's just a thought process.

I strongly disagree. It is very cut and dry. We are having discussion because we try to justify our hobby and our burden on the environment. It's not good what ever way you slice it.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Baker

I strongly disagree. It is very cut and dry. We are having discussion because we try to justify our hobby and our burden on the environment. It's not good what ever way you slice it.

Ok, I stated it wrong. Yes, I believe there is a cut and dry answer. We take, we give nothing back. But I don't think we're going to get consensus on that among hobbyists, for varying reasons

[Sixpack]

Who wouldn't want cheaper fish and corals and so becaus we consumers demand that stores import more in order to make up that loss margins therefore taking more and more livestock out of the oceans because we have devalued their lives.

[kien]

Hey, I just want to add to this discussion, Merry Christmas everyone ! *runs and hides*

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by kien

Hey, I just want to add to this discussion, Merry Christmas everyone ! *runs and hides*

May the Force be with you!